Should Startups Worry about Their Company Culture?

Man I love the definition of culture at the bottom of the article. It really cuts through the crap and platitudes. Culture is:

    1. Polarizing decisions
    2. Excesses
    3. Quirks
    4. Dysfunctions

And to answer the question: you'll never attract and retain the right team without the right culture. There's a very strong feedback loop.

This post made me think about the other prevailing/popular buzzwords (rock star developer, _____ ninja, etc.)

We're always looking for them, or claiming to have them, but still expect that we're going to be able to find them with a post & a share.

Normally, when I look for someplace great to work, I check with those who know (current employees) and the buzz around the organization -- every job is ultimately 'work' with all the related problems, but some places give you that extra buzz (the 'woo', if you allow me an "Almost Famous" movie reference!)

You end up with a "culture" whether or not you worry about it. Of course, what you end up with if you don't worry about it might not help you actually succeed.

Obviously you need to worry about revenue and profitability, but a strong culture can help get everyone on-board to be excited and work hard to get there.

Mostly they should worry about getting revenue and getting into the black. Culture is a bit farther down the list.